Apathy
by LeoHiggins
Summary: Apathy was the word to describe her state of mind. 5 of 7 of the series starting from 3 minutes


**Disclaimer: **This is purely fiction

A/N: **Fifth **in the series starting From **3 minutes**. I split the stories up because I think they can be read by whichever character you like.  
**Everyone**: Thanks for the reviews! As usual, hope to hear what you think about the stories!

Having lived so long, everything seemed uninteresting to her. It was boring, mundane. Apathy would be the word to describe her state of mind.

_This is too noisy_; she cast a lazy eye at the students, evidently bored as the class became a cacophony of collective hushed whispers. She knew full well of the topic; she knew the sudden disappearance of the teacher and the swordswoman is causing much distress in the class, but decided not to join them in their discussion. After all, they were all transient beings for this phase of her immortal life. Another reason for her indifference was the loss of her current person that could sustain her interest. It was rare for these kinds of people to appear: the kind who left a mark in the few memories she will forever remember.

That was something to note.

It was years ago… How long was it? A hundred years? Five hundred? Or was it a thousand? The last may be impossible but it might as well have been that long since she felt her heart beat. After years, memories fade and she could not recall who her friends or enemies were from long ago. She could not even recall nor remember the feeling of the warmth of her mother or the looks of her father. Only events that were of significance were carved into her mind.

The only thing she had imprinted into her memory of her childhood was the night of her tenth birthday. She had awoken to a dark room, with deep crimson splashes on the floor glistening in the moonlight. A strong metallic scent filled the room and she knew that smell, it was the smell of something that she will come to live on for a very long time.

Blood.

She knew she must have ran away. Away from her home, her parents, her past, wandering for years, living off the streets; a full transition from her life of opulence reduced to one of begging and, most frequently, stealing. She remembered having emotions then: feeling guilty for stealing even a single apple, blissful when receiving the charity of a generous soul and terrified when she met with the darker side of one of those 'charitable' cases. She could not remember the details but she managed to keep her chastity. That encounter was her first brush with the dark side of mortals and that was her first mouthful of blood.

As the years went by, she noticed children that were once babes in their mother's arms grew into young children while she remained the same, never older. It was then she realized she could not stay in a place for too long, else questions would be raised about her eternal youth. Soon, she learnt not to cherish the people she met too much for she had to leave them soon enough; she had enough of teary, silent departures from them without saying goodbye. But there were exceptions to her memory.

One event she could recall, forever etched in her mind, was about a teenage maiden she met. She could not quite remember where but it was a period when witchcraft was heresy and that girl had left a strong impression on her. Bread at that time was a luxury as food was scarce. The shop owner she tried to pilfer a few crumbs from was unsympathetic, beating her for her transgression. This girl, whom she had never met before, had offered her some bread with a genuine smile. Naturally, she was guarded at first. Too often she had met with people offering her food only to snatch it out of her hands, laughing at her expense. However hunger had won out and she quickly took a big bite out of the offering, worried that it might be taken away, deciding it was better to be beaten than to be hungry. It surprised her that she was able to finish the whole piece. That was the start of their friendship.

For a length of time she felt that she could feel young and happy again after a long time. Unfortunately, a day came when her new friend was accused of witchcraft: She was pulled from her bed in the middle of the night and tied to a stake under the moonlit night while the inquisitors threw questions whose answers fell to deaf ears. Angered by their actions, she jumped in front of the mob and pleaded them to stop only to be thrown aside, accused to be helping the alleged witch. It was unclear what she did next but it ended with blood in her hands and mouth with a few bodies lying around, the red liquid pooling around their neck. When she turned to her friend, she could never forget the look of pure horror. She took a tentative step, only to stop when her friend told her to stay away from her as if screaming to a monster, never wanting to see her again. Her anguish even when tied to a stake was apparent.

That broke her heart, from then on, shutting herself from everyone .

She wandered for years in solitude, traveling around aimlessly while guarding her heart and emotions from anyone who came by, least she got hurt again. It was doing that period when she realized her potential in magic, cumulating her power and refining her skills to the level of mastery, able to control an army of blood thirsty dolls. Her human nature slowly eroded away by time and cynicism, cruelly treating the mortals around her as she vented her frustrations. Soon enough, she earned the name of "Dark Evangel" among other names and a bounty on her head that many would risk life and limb for it… most of them paid by the former. Soon, she got tired and bored of the reparative cycle of being hunted and getting rid of the hunter.

Then she met him: the Thousand Master. She remembered how suave he looked when he caught her as she fell off a cliff with his windswept hair and bellowing cloak. One look in his eyes, she knew that he was someone special above his reputation of a savior. She learnt that he knew who she was, yet he saved her instead of cashing in on the bounty. To her that was a break from the cycle of wandering and fighting off bounty hunters, so she followed him. In time, she found herself attached, so she took the chance and invested her emotions on him, more than once offering him the gift of immortality. But in the end he, like the other mortals, betrayed her, sealing her magic, reducing her in to a mere immortal ten year old child and trapped her in this… this mundane school.

At first, it was not so bad, having never been to school before; she busied herself with learning whatever was taught and much more. She was approached by her fellow students, her golden blond hair made her outstanding, making her quite popular even though she treated everyone coldly. But the same thing that happened since a long time ago: everyone grew up and graduated whereas she was left behind. So it became lonely and boring again. Thank goodness she had not bonded with any of her classmates or watching them leave would have been difficult.

The Thousand Master said he would return to set her free. But as more students came and go, the less confidence she had of his return. Soon, she became fell to apathy with nothing to look forward to and whatever could be taught have been learnt… she could even recite the textbooks and point out the errors. Then a ray of sunshine entered her dark, dreary life: The one and only son of the Thousand Master.

He was a splitting image of his father. She remembered her excitement from the break of monotony and finally, the chance to get away from this scholarly hell. She could still remember that night at the bridge. He had fought well for a mage of his age, even willing to go so far as to drag in another student to help as a partner. But what was interesting was how much he reminded her of his father when he saved her from certain danger with her weakened body and she could have sworn that she felt her heart beat for a moment as a blush spread across her face from his closeness. Eventually, she was defeated and as per contract, she returned to class. What intrigued her further was that instead of ostracizing her, he willingly went up to her to learn more about her, enthusiastically exclaiming that he would help her break the seal for her. She felt touched by his declaration…and that was something she had not felt for a long time. So in exchange, she clued him to look for a friend of his father; she reasoned that it was to her benefit as well.

It was on that trip the she was touched by him again when he willingly took a stab from a powerful enemy even when he knew that it would not have harmed her. From then on, he asked her to take him in as a disciple so that he would know how to stand against enemies such as the one they encountered. It was then she decided to open herself more to him. Behind those tough demands she had on him, she felt a connection to him that made her feel that he would be worth it. If she failed to convert the father, she will convert his son.

He would make a good companion to her.

She came to realize how much he meant to her even if he were the only connection with the man she liked, However age and experience had made her slow to react, preferring the choice of inaction to see whatever comes in her way. But her belief wavered a little when she saw him with the class swordswoman, apparently on a date. Of course she knew all about the half-blooded albino. It may be a petty act but she made it a point to soundly beat her during the tournament held on that same time period, reminding her of her mixed linage and questioning her right to be happy; after all, she hates people touching objects of her interest. In retrospect, she knew that scar that he wore with pride after his fight with the swordswoman always made her feel uneasy. It was as if that albino had marked him.

And seems that mark him she did.

Now she did not demand that he spends a lot of time with her, so she would not question of the company he had with him daily or who he chose to train with as long as he returned to her to be groomed as a potential and made his payment in blood. But she suspected something was off when he returned from the mountains with the swordswoman as she challenged him to see his progress. He was off his form and distracted, open to almost all her attacks. That should have raised an alarm for her to demand what was distracting him from his training but she acted indifferent, sneering in disgust, not caring to ask or find out even when she wanted to know, even when she had invested on some emotions on him. But that had cleared up soon enough.

Another flag raised was the sudden increase of night patrols that the two have been volunteering. She didn't care to question their sudden enthusiasm if it meant more time for her to think of ways to torture him during his trainings with her.

But life had other plans.

Now the truth was in the air regarding those two that caused the furor in class. That albino was with his child. And their sudden disappearance was not helping the situation in any way. More of the class reacted in different ways that were quite expected. But above all, she noted that for some reason the bookworm had broken down in hysterics; the headmaster's grandchild has put on quite a bit; and the class reporter seemed uncharacteristically happy lately. Personally, when she found out, she was neither angered nor upset. Instead she felt…numb. It was as if she felt that she deserved it: had she took a more active role in paying attention on him she may have rescued the situation and knocked some sense into them. If she had talked to him, she could have saved herself from heartache of losing another person she deemed important to her.

Feeling dejected once more, she fell back into her state of apathy, even when that was what caused her so much pain in the first place. She cast a lazy eye at the rest of the chattering class but held her tongue. She had decided to come to class just to see the trouble that had brewed and knowing this would go on; at least it would give her some entertainment.

Well, for another ten days at least.

A/N: Any guesses for why the ten days?


End file.
